Transitive Closure
by OmegaNY037
Summary: A NEW and DIFFERENT Chp 2 is Up! Under extreme circumstances one must do what he has to in order to survive. Even if it means embracing the demon within himself...
1. Coupled Relations

**Title**: **Transitive Closure **

**Author** **Notes**:  _I am a 20 year old college student who doesn't get a lot of time to write, so I can't promise regular updates if any.  For this reason, I grant permission for any author to use my ideas or story to write their own fic.  I only ask that you email me that you are going to use it so that I can read what you make from it.  If you have ideas or suggestions, please feel free to review or email me with them.  However, I am an adult straight male, and therefore have no desire to read or write Shonen Ai or Yaoi.  I am willing to consider adding romance to this story, but as it is I haven't planned to add any yet._

Chapter 1:Coupled Relations****

            The mission had been completed without a hitch.  Perhaps that is why they were taken off guard when the ambush occurred.  Or maybe it was just fate.  Regardless of the reason, the team of genin ninjas were now outnumbered by more than three to one and completely surrounded.  The three ninjas prepared to fight the best they could against the stacked odds that the ten attackers represented.  The leading ninja, a young boy with dark raven hair, got into a standard Taijutsu stance and concentrated until his eyes revealed the hidden talent of his bloodline.  The ninja whose back was to this boy was a pink haired girl who took a less developed fighting stance than the one the boy took.  Next to both of them, a small blond boy looked to his teammates with worry in his eyes.

            Suddenly, the worry for his friends was replaced with a look of resolute determination in his eyes.  The boy's hands quickly formed the complex seals he had become so familiar with from repetitive use, pushing much of his chakra into the seals and yelling out the name of his attack.

            "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"  Naruto yelled, causing large poofs of smoke to appear all around himself and his teammates.  When the smoke cleared, thirty duplicates of the blond child now stood where there was only air moments ago.  Not giving the enemy any time to adjust, Naruto sent the clones to attack the ones threatening his friends immediately.  The immediate chaos left a large opening in the tight circle the ambushers had made, allowing the three genin to attempt to run away.

            "Come on guys, let's get out of here!  Those clones won't last long!"  Naruto screamed at Sakura and Sasuke, his teammates for the mission they had just completed.  "Do you think we care make it?" Sakura asked worriedly.  "Doesn't matter, it might be our only chance to escape.  Our mission is complete, there is no need to stay and fight."  Sasuke told her.  The three genin ran as fast as possible from their pursuers, and soon they had all but left their vision.  After several minutes of running without hearing anyone chasing them, they slowed to a walk.  Unfortunately, the shinobi involved in this ambush were masters of stealth, and no one on the team heard the ninja until the attack was made.

            "Lookout Sakura!"  Naruto yelled as a kunai flew towards her body.  Sasuke, who was behind them, quickly returned fire with several kunai of his own.  However, he was focused on killing the attacker, and realized he had not stopped the kunai that was heading for Sakura.  "Oh God!"  Sasuke said in a tone denoting heavy emotions rarely heard from the boy.  He looked towards Sakura, expecting the worst, but was surprised to see her standing up fine.  "What happened?" Sasuke asked the girl, who seemed to be in shock.  "N-N-Naruto…"  Sakura replied, then looking at the ground before her feet on which a small blond boy lay.

            It only took a second for Sasuke to realize that Naruto had pushed Sakura out of the way and taken the kunai himself.  From the look of it, the kunai appeared to be completely imbedded in Naruto's heart, a fatal wound.  However, the scene was missing an obvious element that sparked Sasuke's curiosity.  "Why isn't there any blood?"  Sasuke asked out loud, both to himself and Sakura.  When the distraught girl was about to give a reply, the body of their friend disappeared in a puff of smoke, signaling that it had only been a clone.  Both genin were immediately confused until one simultaneous thought ran across their minds, 'If this was a clone, where was the real Naruto?'

The real Naruto had just taken out his fourth ninja by himself, while his clones had done in another two.  Add to that the one who went after his teammates, and that left only three enemy shinobi.  Unfortunately, Naruto was getting tired, and his last clone had just been destroyed.  The three remaining ninjas all turned towards him with anger in their eyes, ready to pounce in a moment.  Normally, Naruto could easily take on these three, which if were anything like the ones he just beat, only genin or chuunin level.  However, his chakra was low and his body was sore.  He had long passed the point of using his own chakra to fight the enemies, but even the power he could gain from the Kyuubi was starting to wane.  The clone which had gone several miles away had to be boosted in order to go the distance and take the kunai hit without it going through the clone and into Sakura.  'Well, at least she is safe.' Naruto thought to himself.

            Knowing that he had to either finish them soon or escape, Naruto focused all his remaining Chakra into his legs and started to run the opposite direction of his friends.  It was only a few moments however, before he realized that he was not going fast enough to lose the three shinobi.  'I guess this is it.  I didn't think that clone would take so much Chakra.  At least it bought them the time they needed to get away from here.  Too bad I won't get to be Hokage though…'  Naruto thought to himself as his pace slowed to a stop.  The three ninjas caught up and surrounded the boy, pulled out kunai, and prepared to finish him for good.  Naruto closed his eyes and began thinking of those people precious to him that he was going to miss.  Iruka, Sakura, Tsunade, Jiraya, Kakashi, Sasuke, Hinata, Lee, and all the others from who he had gained respect and friendship.

            Naruto awaited the feeling of cold metal piercing his skin for what seemed like an hour, but had really been just a few seconds.  He could hear the footsteps of his attackers cautiously approaching from all sides, looking for any sudden movements from the boy.  The pain, fear, loneliness, longing, rage, misery, and desperation he had always spent his life hiding from the outside world with a fake smile finally was let out in large tears that streamed down Naruto's face.  Naruto felt even worse that he would start crying in the face of death, but couldn't help himself from letting out all the emotions he had kept bottled up in life.  He thought over all the times he was mistreated, beaten, hated, scorned, scolded, and worst, ignored.  The feelings washed over his entire body making him wish that the men would just hurry up and kill him.

            The men were slightly shocked at the boy's tears, but quickly regained their focus and approached the crying boy.  Just as the men got within striking distance, Naruto's tears stopped.  'I don't want to feel like this.  I am not alone anymore.  There are people who care for me.  I don't want to die.  There are those awaiting my return.  I don't want to die!  There are those who will miss me and cry if I die.  I don't want to die!!  There are people I want to protect.  People I need to protect.  I don't want to die!!!  I have to protect my village!  I have to protect those I love!  I have to protect myself!'  Naruto thought to himself, slowly opening his eyes.  "I don't want to die!!!  I want to live!!!"  Naruto yelled out loud at the men.

            A burning sensation on his stomach started and grew as Chakra poured into his body at such a rate he had never experienced.  His body began to heal as the burning sensation spread through his body, following each Chakra pathway to its final destination.  After a few moments, the body could no longer contain the large force within it, and a visible red aura formed around the young boy.  The ninjas who were previously going to attack started to back away, but not quickly enough.  Nine large tails of Chakra whipped out from the blond boy and slammed into the ninjas, knocking them back hundreds of yards and to their deaths.  However, even with the threat gone, the boy still continued to release more and more Chakra through his body.

            Naruto's body started to go through changes he had only felt once before.  His whisker marks grew, his face elongated, his teeth sharpened, his nails grew, and his eyes turned red with black slits.  He had only felt this transformation once before, when he thought that Sasuke had been killed by Haku.  Naruto's muscles started to expand and he fell to the ground on all fours.  The last time this had happened he had last control, almost as if he were dreaming.  This time however, he felt completely in control of his transformed body.  Naruto waited for the transformation to complete itself, and was surprised when he felt himself start changing again.  Fur now covered his body which was slowly expanding to great size.  The nine tails of Chakra behind him were soon replaced by nine actual tails of fur.  His body grew until it was taller than the trees and many meters long.

            'What is going on?' Naruto asked himself.  Almost instantly he knew the truth of the matter.  He could feel that something was missing, like a giant weight taken off of his shoulders.  Deep inside he could feel that the seal and burden which he had carried for so many years had broken, and the demon fox had gained full access to his body.  'We are one now.  Our body is shared between us.  This is our true form.'  Naruto thought to himself.  The thoughts and feelings of the two beings inside this one body fused to create a new being.  No longer were they a young boy and a demon, but something else entirely.  'We are Kyuubi Naruto of the Leaf.  We shall protect those precious to us, but destroy those who are not.  Now, let us return.'  Naruto told himself as he felt another transformation take place within him.  

His body shrunk to its normal shape and size, leaving only a few remnants of the transformation.  The only real evidence was the nine small fox tails attached to his behind that were quickly hidden under a new set of clothes he summoned.  Naruto rolled in the dirt for a little while and placed some superficial cuts on his body to hide the fact that he was now undamaged by the ninjas.  After everything was in order, Naruto faced the direction that Sasuke and Sakura ran in and followed.

**End Chapter 1**


	2. Flow

**Title**: **Transitive Closure **

**Author** **Notes**:  _I decided I really didn't like the end of chapter two and where it was taking the story.  So I took the time and rewrote it.  I hope you like it.  Please, any suggestions will be taken under consideration.  Also, I rewrote the end based in part because many reviewers didn't like it.  So there is an example of your reviews at work.  Anyways, I will point out that questions based on inconsistencies with the manga will either be answered or will just be considered nonexistent._

**Chapter 2: **Flow

       Unlike Sasuke's mostly impassive face, Sakura did not even attempt to hide her concern for Naruto. Their blond teammate had returned several hours ago, but had not spoken a word to either of them since he arrived.  Normally such silence from the often hyperactive ninja would be a welcome gift, but under the circumstances she wished that Naruto would just start his normal routine of bragging about how much better he was than Sasuke.  Sakura wanted to ask Naruto what had occurred between him and the group that ambushed their team, but the look on his face told her it would not be a good idea.  It wasn't the fact that Naruto wasn't smiling that concerned her, but the fact that his brow was scrunched tightly as if thinking.  Thinking was something she had never seen Naruto do for any prolonged period of time.                     

        The three continued walking in complete silence through the night with an unspoken agreement between them to get as far from the site of the ambush as possible.  By first light of dawn the next morning, the team was surrounded by the familiar sites leading up to the Hidden Leaf Village of Fire country.  By noon they had crossed the multiple checkpoints that had been added since the war with the Sound left much of the village in ruins.  In the end the Hidden Sound Village was defeated as was the Leaf traitor Orochimaru.  However with other missing-nins such as Itachi still being sighted in and around Fire country, the village could not afford to become lax in its protection.

        With their mission complete, the three genin headed to see the Hokage to give a mission report and determine if they would be proceeding on another mission soon.  As was the case with class C and D missions, the ninjas normally returned uninjured and refreshed, ready to earn some more money from another mission.  They had to wait a short while before the Hokage could see them and Sakura decided now would be a good time to question Naruto about what had happened.  Sakura had just opened her mouth to speak when the Hokage's door opened and they were ushered into the room by some unknown chuunin.

            "Welcome back.  I trust things went well."  Tsunade, the 5th Hokage said to the group.  While she was expecting a curt nod or verbal confirmation, all she received were three strange looks.  'Sakura looks upset, Sasuke looks annoyed, and Naruto looks…thoughtful?  What the hell is going on?!?' Tsunade asked herself.  "What happened?  Did you complete the mission?" The old aged but young looking woman asked the group, focusing the question mostly on Naruto.  After a few moments in which he did not show any signs of responding, Sasuke stepped forward to explain.

            "Shortly after the mission was completed we were attacked by an unknown group of shinobi.  They did not wear the symbol of any village, nor was I able to determine their attack styles or juutsu.  To escape the ambush, Naruto created shadow clones to fight the ninja while the three of us ran.  However, we soon discovered that the one we thought to be Naruto was actually a clone and Naruto was still fighting the attackers.  Before we could head back for him, Naruto found us and we ran overnight back to the village."  Sasuke told her in a dull voice.  His expression was void of any emotion save his eyes, which seemed to show his reluctance to continue.  Fortunately, he didn't have to do so.

            "Naruto has not told us what happened as of yet.  In fact, he has not spoken since he met up with us.  I checked to make sure he wasn't an enemy in disguise, therefore I am sure it is him."  Sakura told the Hokage, her voice betraying the worry that had built up over the past night.  In his first sign of emotion since returning, Sakura saw Naruto flinch slightly when she spoke about him worriedly.  She wanted to see if she could provoke a greater response, but the Hokage stopped her.  "Very well then, you two may leave.  I will speak with Naruto here."  Tsunade told Sakura and Sasuke, who knew that was their cue to leave.  With a glance towards the chuunin at the door, the room was soon empty with the door closed and locked.

            "She couldn't see it, but I can.  You may look the same, but your Chakra has changed.  It is still familiar on the surface, but it seems as if your Chakra was completely rearranged.   What happened to you, Naruto?"  Tsunade questioned the boy sharply.  Rather than start an embellished story or change the subject, Naruto just looked at the woman and assertively replied.  "The team was attacked so I created a diversion to help the others to escape.  Then I fought and defeated those that ambushed us.  The mission was completed and I am ready to accept another mission at your discretion."

            'Naruto seems to have matured almost overnight.  He isn't taking the bait or responding the way he normally would.  There was one way that you could get him to open up in the past.  Hopefully, it will still work.'  Tsunade stretched her body and prepared herself for the ultimate technique she would use against Naruto.  "Wanna go get some ramen?  My treat.  As much as you want!"  Tsunade said in a cheerful voice.  Slowly, Naruto's impassive face struggled to keep its composure until finally a grin appeared and warmth filled his eyes once more.  'Perfect, I knew it would work!'  Tsunade bragged to herself.

            The two headed towards the closest ramen stand they could find, which luckily for Tsunade, was only a block away.  She knew that Naruto hadn't eaten ramen in several days, making it even harder for the boy to control his impulses.  Once they were within sight of the ramen stand, Naruto moved at a speed so fast that even Tsunade couldn't see him until he reappeared in front of the stand.  Tsunade took her good time to walk to where Naruto was, further wearing on the patience of the boy.  'This should be funny.'  The Hokage thought to herself.  She started to slow her steps even further, until her speed was that of a baby.

            This was all it took for Naruto to snap.  "I'm hungry!!!" He shouted before running back to Tsunade, grabbing the woman, and returning to the ramen stand.  Tsunade looked at the boy fondly, raising her hand to rub the hair on his head.  "I'll take ten bowls of pork and beef ramen, please."  She told the man behind the counter.  At this statement, Naruto's whole face lit up.  Tsunade couldn't help but joke around with him again.  "Would you like a bowl too, Naruto?"  She mockingly asked the boy.  At this Naruto's jaw dropped and face went pale, until he realized the joke and broke out in a smile.  "No, nine will be enough." He told the woman, countering her last statement perfectly.

            Within three minutes, they had all the ramen they wanted, and the two found a quiet bench to sit on in a nearby park.  Once the ramen was eaten, which took Naruto only four minutes for all ten bowls, Naruto looked up to see Tsunade looking at him with serious eyes.  The boy met her penetrating gaze, and the two were locked in unspoken battle.  Finally, Tsunade broke the silence that reigned over them.  "Naruto, I can tell you have changed.  I know I have only known you for a couple of years, but I want you to know that I care about you.  No matter what happens, that will never change.  So I am asking you to please tell me what is going on so that I can try and help you."  Tsunade said, finally revealing the feelings she had been bottling up since Naruto had returned.

            It could have been no more than five minutes, or it could have been hours before Naruto crafted a reply.  Naruto's face displayed the conflicting emotions that went through him as he made his decision.  Finally, his face once again took the look he had worn back in Tsunade's office, and he let out two words.  "Follow me."  He told her, as he stood up, and began walking to the nearby forest.

**End Chapter 2**


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